Portugal

[PAWSABELLE]

I'm thinking of going to Portugal in August and am just about to have a look at what's available online. Has anyone any recommendations of a good hotel and area please? I stayed in Villamoura about 10 years ago, and am wondering what Albufeira is like?

[rugeleyboy]

ask me next week................i am going tommorow!!

[PAWSABELLE]

Hope you have a fab time Rugeley and look forward to hearing about it x

[robertson]

I was in Vale Do Lobo the other week (when the England squad were there) and stayed at the Ria Park Hotel. Not the best 5-star in the World but pretty good.

[tomtech]

if you like loads of english, irish, yorkshire, welsh bars, timeshare touts, drunken louts etc then albufeira is the place for you. if you like quite the reverse i can recommend costa da caparica, just below lisbon. 25 kms of beach with a little train running up and down. the costa da caparica hotel is just off the beach and if you get a seaview room its heaven waking up in the morning to the glorious sunshine. fishermen pulling in their catch in the evening and people buying the fish straight off the beach. its a fantastic place and i love it. a lot of the algarve is great but this place is just terrific, depending on what you want from your holiday of course.

[PAWSABELLE]

Thanks everyone. Will look at Vale do Lobo and costa da caparica. Thomson website do a little video of hotels and resorts now!

[monroe]

I just love Alvor. Can't help with hotel though as we stayed in friends' apartment. What a lovely little village and wonderful food!

[tomtech]

yes monroe, alvor is one of the places i have been many times, and still has that something about it. it hasnt been totally ruined yet. did you go to the bourgonvilia restaraunt and have steak on the stone? its an experience. and prawns in garlic right down on the beach, fantastic. think ill book a flight now!

[hutchin1982]

Hi i had a villa in Portugal and lived there for sevral years on and off for 15 years, i would highy reccommend Villamoura as the marina as everything, alot as changed in 10 years ill tell u that. Albufeira is nice much bigger and more lively, but me personally a would chosse Villamoura, and if u are looking for a nice chicken pri pri, then either go to Guia or travel a bit out to a town called Sas Bras it is east of Villmoura, and go to a Restraurant called Louis de Frango its tops and very cheap but it will be worth the travel and its a chance to see real Portugal . hope ive bin some help

[tomtech]

i have to agree villamoura is very nice with a lovely marina, but it is classed as tinsel town. very expensive and not real portugal. we saw cliff richards yacht in the marina when we were there. lovely villas and great golf. well worth a visit but to stay there for two weeks would cost a lot of dosh. and the best chicken piri piri we had several times was in silves, really nice and so cheap.

[PAWSABELLE]

Thanks Hutchin, you have been a great help, as has everyone, we just need to make a decision now. Spoke to my uncle about it today as he has a place in Portugal, but he didn't rate Albufeira :-)